October 2012: The World Health Organisation (WHO) and UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have launched an online consultation on health, one of 11 thematic consultations led by the UN Development Group (UNDG) and chaired by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) as part of a “global conversation” on the post-2015 development agenda.

The public consultation is taking place on “The World We Want” website, jointly administered by the UN and civil society, and is supported by the Government of Sweden. The thematic consultation on health focuses on: lessons learned from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on health; health priorities after 2015; framing of future health goals; measurement of progress; and ensuring a process that is relevant and inclusive of stakeholders. Discussion outcomes will be captured in a synthesis document with conclusions and recommendations for health goals in the post-2015 development agenda.

Elements of the consultation include: reading and commenting on background papers and meeting reports; participating in online e-discussions; participation via Twitter; and responding to the call for papers. Papers of up to 3,000 words may be submitted from 5 October-15 December 2012, and may address: disease-specific policy and programming challenges, health systems issues, monitoring and evaluation, or cross-sectoral action. A team is reviewing submissions and publishing all accepted papers on the site. An accompanying weekly digest provides a summary of recent submissions. Besides posting submissions, the platform will host an online discussion and support social media networking.

A high-level “leadership meeting” is planned for early March 2013, during which around 40 participants from government and civil society, including members of the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda (HLP), will discuss the synthesis report of the consultation process, and recommend how to integrate the findings into formal negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda. [Health Consultation] [The World We Want Website] [IISD RS Sources]